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Published by The National
Herald, February 18, 2005
Greek church
proposes urgent reforms amid 'grave' scandals |
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ATHENS, Greece Feb 18 (Associated Press)- Greece's
powerful Orthodox Church, rocked by sex and
corruption scandals, held an emergency meeting
Friday aimed at making wide ranging reforms.
The 102-member Holy Synod is holding two days of
meetings that will look at introducing stronger
controls over church finances a rare move by
church leader Archbishop Christodoulos.
The full Synod normally meets every October.
Seldom subjected to public scrutiny, the church's
image has been damaged by scandals, sexual
revelations surrounding bishops who take a vow of
celibacy and allegations of involvement in
trial-fixing and embezzlement.
"I humbly ask for forgiveness from the people and
the clerics who in their majority honor ... the
cassock they wear," Archbishop Christodoulos said
in his opening statement, as quoted by state-run
television.
Christodoulos said the situation was "particularly
grave."
"Everybody is awaiting our decisions for a
cleanup. There is a lot that must be done to put
our house in order," he said.
Christodoulos easily defeated a non-confidence
motion by 67-1 votes, submitted by a dissenting
bishop.
The first day's closed-door meetings ended after
seven hours of debate, and a spokesman admitted
there had been several "moments of tension."
On Saturday, Church elders are expected to approve
a series of measures proposed by the archbishop,
including greater involvement of civil authorities
in the prosecution of "ethical misconduct" and
financial accountability.
Under the changes, seminary students may also lose
their exemption from military service.
The government also has called for catharsis in
the church.
"We are witnessing a crisis in the church,"
Culture Minister Fani Palli-Petralia said Thursday
after a meeting with the prime minister. "I
believe the church will come out of this crisis
stronger. This is a demand by all of us."
Conservative Premier Costas Karamanlis has called
on the church to take steps to fight corruption.
On Feb. 4, Metropolitan bishop Panteleimon of
Attica was suspended for six months over
allegations of embezzlement.
A day earlier, the church suspended archmandrite
Iakovos Giosakis after he was charged by a public
prosecutor with antiquities smuggling.
Giosakis is also under investigation in a major
trial-fixing scandal in which eight judges have
already been disciplined while at least one judge
faces criminal charges for bribery and money
laundering.
The church is investigating four more clerics,
including a 91-year-old metropolitan bishop, over
photos published in an Athens daily allegedly
showing him nude in bed with a young woman.
Orthodox Christianity is the official religion in
Greece, with more than 97 percent of the country's
11 million people baptized Orthodox.
The scandals have hurt the image of the church and
of Christodoulos.
A poll published last week in Athens newspapers
showed Christodoulos' popularity has plummeted
from 68 percent in May 2004 to 43 percent when the
scandal broke in early February. The nationwide
telephone poll by the VPRC company of 941 Greek
adults did not include a margin of error.
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